Method of waving hair



Aug. 8, 1933. H. BONAT 2 METHOD OF WAVING HAIR Filed NOV. 26, 1932INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 8, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEApplication November 26, 1932 2' Claims. ((21. 132-36) This inventionrelates to the art of waving hair upon the human head to produceso-called permanent waves, and particularly to improvements in thecroquignole method of pro-.-

ducing such waves.

In the croquignole method as commonly practised heretofore, it has beenconsidered essential to divide the hair on the head into a plurality offlat strands and to apply-a clamp having elongated clamping surfaces toeach strand. The hair is thus firmly held adjacent the scalp in the formof a flat strand of approximately the length of the roller upon whichthe strand is then wound spirally from its outer end. The flat strand asthus wound is then moistened with a suitable lotion, enclosed in awrapper and subjected to heat by applying an enclosing heater whichincludes preferably electrical heating elements.

It has been found, however, that this procedure leads'to numerousdifficulties, among which are unevenness of winding and tendency of thehair to bunch toward the ends of the winding roller and to escapetherefrom during the winding operation with resulting unsatisfactoryresults in the effect produced when the heating is completed. Anotherdifliculty arises because of the impossibility of securing a steam andmoisture-proof seal with a clamp having elongated clamping surfaces.Spaces are left between the co-operating surfaces of the clamp at theends and along the width of the strand. The escape of steam and/or hotliquids through the clamps causes severe burns to the scalp of theperson who is subjected to treatment. Hairdressers have been subjectedto numerous damage suits because of such burns.

It is the object of the present invention to avoid the difllculties, andparticularly those hereinbefore noted, which are inherent in thecroquignole method as practised heretofore and to provide a simple, safeand effective method of waving hair on the human head to obtain theeffective waves produced by spiral winding as contrasted with the curlsresulting from the application of the helical or spindle winding method.

The object is accomplished by dividing the hair into a plurality ofstrands inwhich the hairs of each strand are bunched together in a roundor rope form, the cross-section of each strand being generally circular.Each of these strands is secured by a clamp close to the scalp. The hairis not spread in the clamp, as required by earlier methods, but issecurely held in the round or rope form. The clamp employed is soconstruct ed as to afford no spaces on either side of the strand throughwhich steam and/or liquid can escape, and affords complete andsatisfactory protection against burns.

When the strand in round or rope form has been securely fastened nearthe scalp, it is spread fanwise sufliciently to be received by the,roller and is wound from its outer end on the roller. Since the hairs ofeach strand converge toward the limited area indicated by thecross-section of the strand in round or rope form, winding isaccomplished more easily and the hair is prevented automatically frompiling up near the ends of the roller. A more even winding results. Whenthe hair hasbeen moistened, wrapped and subjected to heat, the waveproduced is found to be more uniform and satisfactory than thatobtainable by the practice of the method as heretofore known. Instead ofa single strand, two or even three strands in round or rope form can besecured by one clamp. The strands thus secured can be spread fanwise andwound together on a single roller. The same uniformity in the resultingwave is secured, and the head is likewise protected because the clampaffords no spaces between the strands for the passage of steam and/ormoisture.

As a further protection to the head of the person treated, a suitableshield or protector may be disposed beneath each clamp. Conveniently theshield may be of felt, flannel or other fabric or material. It may alsobe made of a plurality of layers of material, for example layers offelt. or flannel with an intermediate layer of cork or other heatinsulating material. A slit may be provided in the pad through which thestrand of hair is drawn before, the clamp is applied. Theshieldinsulates the scalp and prevents contact of hot metal partstherewith.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the assembleddevices for imparting a wave to the hair;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the same assembly;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a clamp adaptdrawn through a slit 7in a protector 8 comprising preferably layers 9 of felt, flannel orother suitable material with an intermediate layer 10 of heat insulatingmaterial such as cork, the layers being connected by stitching 11 orotherwise.

The strand 6, in round or rope form, with a cross-section substantiallycircular, as indicated in Fig. 2, is held by a clamp 12. The clampcomprises members 13 and 14, preferably of metal and bent to asubstantial U-section. The members are pivotally connected at 15 and areprovided with co-operating jaws 16 and 1'7 with cutout portions 18 and19 of semi-circular form to engage a strand of hair. A plate 20 isslidably supported between the sides of the member 13 and is biased bysprings 21 in the direction of the opposing member 14. The plate 20 hasa cut-out portion 21 corresponding to the portions 18 and 19. A bar 22is pivotally secured at 23 to the member 13 and is adapted to passbetween the sides of the member 14. A cam 24, pivoted at 25 on the bar22 and having an arm 26, is adapted to engage the cam surface 27 on themember 14, thus permitting the clamp to be locked in closed position.Any other suitable locking device may be employed.

It will be understood that when the strand of hair is placed in thecut-out portion 21' with the clamp in open position, and the member 14there is then moved to closed position, the cut out portion 19 will alsoengage the strand of hair. The plate 20 will be forced backwardlyagainst the springs 21 as the clamp is closed and locked and the strandwill be resiliently and firmly secured. The overlapping joints, securedby engagement of the plate 20 between the sides of the member 14, willprevent the escape of steam and/or moisture through the clamp. Thestrand of hair is so tightly held that no steam and/or moisture can passdownwardly through the strand.

, The member 13 of the clamp carries an upstanding yoke 28 at one endthereof and a similar yoke 29 at theother end thereof, the latter havinga projecting ratchet tooth 30 which is adapted to engage with ratchetteeth 31 on a roller 32 which is adapted to be supported in the yokesand has a knurled head 33 at one end to facilitate the rolling of thehair. A clip 34 is pivoted at 35 on the roller 32 and is adapted toengage the end of they strand of hair.

As previously indicated, the strand is opened fanwise in the mannershown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and is wound from its end upon theroller 32 until the roller is disposed closely adjacent to the clamp andis engaged by the yokes 28 and 29. By turning the knurled head 33, thestrand of hair can be placed under suitable tension, reverse movement ofthe roller being prevented by co-operation of the ratchet teeth 30 and31. The wound strand is then enclosed in a wrapper 36 of any suitablematerial which may be moistened with a lotion such as is commonly usedin the hair waving art, for example a water solution of borax. Thestrand of hair on the roller may be first moistened with this lotion.The wound and wrapped strand is then embraced by a heater comprisingarcuate members 37 having heating elements 38 disposed therein. Thearcuate members are supported on arms 39 pivotally connected at 40 andhaving insulating handles 41 to facilitate use thereof. Electricalconductors 42 are supported on the arms 39 by insulating blocks 43 andare connected to the heating elements 38 so that heat may be supplied tothe wound strand of hair.

As previously indicated the hair may be divided into two or morestrands, if desired, and in Fig. 5 of the drawing I have illustrated aclamp comprising members 44 and 45 pivoted at 46 and secured by a cam'47or similar locking device. The member 44 is provided with two cut-outportions 48, and the member 45 with similar cutout portions 49. A plate50, similar to the plate 20 in Fig. 4, and resiliently biased by springsin the same manner, is provided to ensure the firm gripping of thestrand of hair.

The essential feature of the method resides, as hereinbefore noted, inthe gripping of one or more strands of hair in round or rope formadjacent the scalp of the wearer and the spreading of the strand orstrands fanwise before winding the strand or strands upon the roller.This procedure is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing and results inthe production of a wave of superior form and avoids the difficultiesheretofore experienced in respect to the passage of steam and/ormoisture to the scalp with resultant burns. These and other advantagesmay be obtained with variations in the procedure and in the apparatusemployed, without departing from the invention or sacrificing any of theadvantages thereof.

I claim:

1. The method of waving hair upon the human head which comprisesdividing the hair into compact strands, the cross-section of each strandbeing generally circular, firmly securing each strand adjacent thescalp, spreading the hairs of each strand fanwise, winding the hair fromits outer ends to a point adjacent the point where the strand issecured, moistening the hair and subjecting it while it is wound to heatsufficient to fix a wave in the hair.

2. The method of waving hair upon the human head which comprisesdividing the hair into compact strands, the cross-section of each strandbeing generally circular, firmly securing a plumoistening the hair andsubjecting it while it is wound to heat sufficient to fix a wave in thehair. I

HARRY BONA'I.

